The Death Penalty In The Time Of Antigone

The conditionality of burying the dead shows that gods’ law is less sacred for Antigone than she claims to be. Neither does she care about her living families. She humiliates Ismene publicly, causing Creon’s death indirectly and set her uncle Creon in a dilemma where he needs to punish his daughter-in-law. Her real incentive is individual reputation, for she excludes Ismene from standing by her and asks Ismene to spread the news about her defiant act. She seems to use religion and family as elegant reasons to achieve honor. On the contrary, Creon, as a king, weights the interest of the overall state more than his own family. After experiencing the civil war caused by Polyneices, he understands the great need of the polis for order and thus enacts harsh laws to punish people causing riots. Unanimous obedience to law would also encourage his people to fight bravely in the war by being “loyal and dauntless at his comrades’s side”. Creon has to retain the validity and effectiveness of the law, because if every citizen can pursue any personal interest without fear for grave consequences, the entire social operation mechanism would break down. Punishing Antigone is necessary to retain the order of the polis.

An Annotated Bibliography on Antigone Reed, Valerie. " Bringing Antigone Home. " Comparative Literature Studies (2008): 316-340.

Antigone was sentenced to death because she was trying to do what she thought was right. Even though she knew the punishment could eventually lead to death. But instead, it was her own hand that killed her. Antigone always knew that Creon was a straightforward man and that he did not mess around with the law. Antigone did not support the new law that Creon put in place, so she had broken the clearly stated law.

In the play Antigone, Antigone decided to bury her brother, Eteocles even though the king said this was unlawful. Creon believes Eteocles shouldn't be buried because he is a traitor for trying to take over. One who puts their family before following authority can cause catastrophic events. Like in the play Antigone, Antigone’s decisions lead to her death. Putting family before authority ruins relationships.

The population of medieval Europe (500AD-1500AD) was controlled by three major factors, feudalism, religion and the justice system. The justice system controlled all the punishments for each crime and what was punishable by death. Religion controlled people by blackmail saying they would go to hell after they died if they didn't do what they asked and feudalism gave control and power to the higher class, allowing them to manipulate the lower classes. I think that religion was the most controlling and powerful over the medieval society since the idea of disobeying the creator of earth and fate after death seemed much more threatening to capital punishment or higher classes using their power to control everyone below them.

What guides your confident decision to follow the rules or break established rules? In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone was confident about her decision to bury her brother even if that meant that she would break the laws. By examining conflicts that pertain to characters, it can be confirmed that a theme was beginning to form. The author’s purpose for creating this play was to create purpose and meaning towards real life scenarios. A theme that is established in the play is that no matter what, you should stand up for what you believe in, even if that means you’ll face consequences due to your decisions.

Justice is a main problem in the world today. It is something that everyone in the world encounters, and many struggle with the concept of. According to Webster’s Dictionary, justice is “the quality of being just, impartial, or fair”(Justice). In other words, knowing or proving the ability to make things fair and right for everyone. Antigone reveals the meaning of justice throughout the novel, in showing both “just” and “unjust situations within the characters.

For ages, humans have been ending the lives of others in the name of morality and

If you were told you could not bury your brother would you do it anyway knowing there could be consequences? Antigone is the protagonist and shes very prideful of her family and will do anything for them. She can’t bury her brother because it’s going against Creon's laws and there would be major consequences. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone did the right thing when burying her brother.

ON DEATH. Death is perhaps the most inevitable constant, in that no one can escape it. It is a force of nature, too complex for simple minds to comprehend, and yet, it is perhaps one of the most recurring elements humans bear witness to. In simple terms, death is endlessly fascinating.

Antigone believed that the actions she took were done for the right reason, because they adhere to the law of the Gods. In opposition to that, Creon believes that the actions he had taken were in fact the right ones, because he believed that Polyneices was a traitor to the land, and that anyone who should give him a proper burial would suffer the penalty of death. So, the actions that were taken by both of them individually were the right ones, in their own minds at least.<br><br>Antigone, in her plan to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial, kept in mind the consequences that she would suffer for having followed through with the plan. This doesn't necessarily mean that Antigone does not obey the human law that is set up by King Creon, it just means that this particular rule conflicted with the law of the Gods, something that Antigone believes highly in obeying, especially when it deals with her family. Antigone disregards the Olympian Justice that governs the land and also presides over the set laws that make civilized life attainable (Segal "Antigone" 172).<br><br>Antigone goes up against human law, by burying her brother Polyneices, knowing well that she will have to sacrifice her own life. She does this only because it is morally and ethically right, and this is why she stakes her life based upon her strong beliefs (Segal

Sophocles, a great tragedian, was the one who gave Greek tragedies their traditional form. An important part of traditional Greek tragedies is the presence of a tragic hero. All tragic heroes should have the characteristics of rank, a tragic flaw, a downfall, and a recognition of mistakes. The seemingly tragic hero is Antigone. She wants to bury her brother Polyneices even though this would be going against Creon, who is her uncle and the king. When Antigone buries Polyneices Creon sentences her to death because of it. In Antigone by Sophocles the tragic hero is not Antigone because she only meets the characteristic of a tragic flaw, hers being pride, but doesn 't meet the other three characteristics of a

The strange thing about society is that it is unacceptable for a person to kill another, yet it is considered acceptable to retaliate to this action, and others crimes, with the consequence of execution. In Antigone, many people had realized this flaw and felt it that it was wrong to kill Antigone for defying Creon’s orders. The play Antigone, written by Sophocles, is based off a decree created by King Creon that anyone who attempts to bury the body of Polyneices, the brother of Antigone, will be put to death. Antigone disobeys this decree out of loyalty to her family and is sentenced to die. The death penalty should not a form of criminal punishment because it is ineffective.

Sophocles’ tragedy, Antigone, follows protagonist Antigone, through her quest for justice with emphasis on integrity, sacrifice and the laws of man. Taking place around 441 B.C., Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, wants to bury her brother Polyneices after he was killed in war. Creon, King of Thebes, has forbidden Polyneices to buried and said that anyone who tries to bury him will be killed. Antigone, acting out of love for her brother and in defiance of Creon, intends to ignore such threats and bury Polyneices anyways. While Antigone’s sister, Ismene is too afraid to do it, Antigone admits she is willing to die to give her brother his rightful burial. She then proceeds to bury her brother, not once, but twice, to which enrages Creon. After she is caught, Creon intends to kill Antigone but first he gets in an argument with his son Haemon (also Antigone’s fiancé) and a blind prophet appears to tell Creon not to leave Polynieces unburied or kill Antigone, as it will upset the gods. After some deliberation, Creon decides to release Antigone and bury Polyneices, out of fear of his own fate. Yet is too late as Antigone hanged herself, Haemon accidentally killed himself, and finally, Creon’s wife killed herself out of despair. In the end Creon cannot catch a break as even when he asks to die, his punishment for his wrong-doings is that he must live the rest of his miserable life.

Antigone uses the concept of death in many ways when unfolding the tragic story of Antigone and her rebellion. The most obvious way is how death is used as a form of capital punishment and justice against state-dubbed criminals and wrongdoers. The play first exhibits this notion when Antigone states, “No passing humor, for the edict says who’er transgresses shall be stoned to death”